Ledyard — A man's body was pulled from the water near the eastern bank of the Thames River on Tuesday, shortly after it was spotted by someone on a passing freight train.

Police have yet to make a positive identification.

The body was expected to be taken to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Farmington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, said state police spokeswoman Sgt. Donna Tadiello.

An employee on the Worcester & Providence railroad contacted police at about 1:30 p.m. to report the find. The body was discovered in the area of Stoddard Hill State Park in Ledyard and Poquetanuck Cove in Preston.

Ledyard police were joined at the scene by personnel from the Gales Ferry Fire Department and detectives from the state police Eastern District Major Crime Squad.

Tadiello said the body was close enough to shore to be reached without a boat. But from land, the area is only accessible on foot from the railroad tracks off Drawbridge Road in Preston. The Mystic Fire Department's boat was called in to assist in the recovery of the body.

Emergency responders from the Gales Ferry Fire Department and Connecticut State Police work the scene of a body found off of the railroad tracks between Poquetanuck Cove and the Thames River near the Ledyard/Preston line Tuesday Jan. 21, 2014.